Witherspoon made critically acclaimed television and feature film debuts in 1991, with appearances in Wildflower and The Man in the Moon, respectively. Her other work includes the miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) and the movies Twilight (1998), Pleasantville (1998), and Election (1999), which won the Independent Spirit awards for Best Feature and Best Director. She played the character of Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde (2001) and the sequel Legally Blonde 2:Red, White & Blonde (2003). She portrayed June Carter Cash in an award-winning portrayal in Walk the Line (2005). She is married to actor Ryan Phillippe.